I Knew You Were Trouble
by Krys Ivory
Summary: The encounter with her employer's grandson only makes the suffering in her life to start afresh all over again since the promise of sheer joy in her life that he said is just a beautiful lie. The bitterness that Mio swallowed makes her to rise. In the coming moment, even if thousands of regrets are spoken by Ritsuki's lips, they will never ever mean anything to her anymore.
1. Synopsis

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hehehe, I guess that I still have a lot to learn in writing stories for this site. So, please forgive me for all of the inconveniences and I really hope that you all would like this. Honestly, this is a ten years old boy's very first fanfic ever! Thus, there will be a lot of countless mistakes in grammars and others and I am very sorry! Oh, I also want to say a lot of thanks to various people who pointed any blunders that I made. Truthfully, I really appreciate those comments.**

**FOR YOUR INFORMATION: This story is a work of fiction. Several names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.**

**DISCLAIMERS: K-On! is formally belongs to Kakifly/Kyoto Animation© Alternate Universe & "I Knew You Were Trouble" is officially performed by Taylor Swift.**

"**I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE: TRAILER"**

(WRITTEN BY KRYS ADAM IVORY)

Akiyama Mio is an orphan who can only depend on her grandmother, Hibiku's love since her stepmother, Yoriko is always tormenting her continuously. A young girl's dream to study further is destroyed in the process as Mio was asked to be a maid by Yoriko. Being a maid is like giving a new light in her life. But still, it is only for temporarily because Mio was deceived endlessly with the empty promises made by a man. The fated encounter with her employer's grandson only makes the suffering in her life to start afresh all over again since the promises of sheer joys in her life that he said are just nothing more than beautiful lies. Tainaka Ritsuki, his successful career and family's wealth turned him into an arrogant man and that arrogance makes him to easily play with this naïve girl's love and life without any hesitation. Apparently in silence, there are plans which he arranged secretly together with his mother. Tainaka Satomi, her greed makes her forgot everything. Without any mercy or sympathy, she willingly destroys a young girl's life in order to achieve her one and only vision with the help of her only son. However, why do Mio has to be their victim? How could they ever have a heart to torment this unfortunate girl's life endlessly?

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Lately, I have been pretty busy since several weeks ago with my first term exam and a sport festival which will be held at my school early in the next month. Hence, I am very sorry for the long delay. Well, I am indebted to many people while in the making of this story and it is also including you, my dear readers. Besides, thanks for reading and even reviewing this story.**

**FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Unfortunately, there is no yuri as I turned some chosen characters into males and this story will only focus on Mitsu! Basically, I hate male OCs to be paired up with anyone of them because they will never be me! One more thing, some people might be a little or too out of characters! So, please beware!**

"And the saddest fear comes creeping in

That you never loved me or her

Or anyone, or anything, yeah

And he's long gone when he's next to me

And I realize the blame is on me cause

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

You flew me to places I've never been

Until you put me down, oh

Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground…"

_Quoted by "__**I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE**__" performed by __**TAYLOR SWIFT**_

_From the album "__**RED**__" released in 2012_


	2. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: It had been a while since I published this story. Well, there were a lot of mistakes and I thought that I really need to refine it. Sorry for the troubles and thanks a lot for wasting your precious times on reading this. From the moment I published this story, many people were guessing about that man's identity. However, just keep on trying until I reveal his identity in the next chapter then. I bet that some of you might be very surprised by the finally written truth. Lastly, I really hope that you would love this. Oh, I also adjusted this chapter into a longer one. Alright, peace!**

**FOR YOUR INFORMATION: This story is a work of fiction. Several names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.**

**DISCLAIMERS: K-On! is formally belongs to Kakifly/Kyoto Animation© Alternate Universe & "I Knew You Were Trouble" is officially performed by Taylor Swift.**

"**I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE: CHAPTER ONE"**

(WRITTEN BY KRYS ADAM IVORY)

As the morning sun rays emit more, the picturesque look of a young black-haired girl with splash of sweat on her forehead could be clearly seen. She is now shouting her heart out just to get people's attention into buying her rice and cakes. The girl walks carefully while carrying a rather big wooden basket on her head. "Rice and cakes! Who wants to buy rice and cakes?!"

"Good morning, Mio!" She stopped screaming as soon as a familiar voice of an old man caught her ears. The old man's slow cycling came to a halt right beside Mio. "Are there still too many of your rice and cakes? I mean, it's almost seven in the morning. So, I thought that you should've at least sold half of them by now."

Mio then gave him a slightly frowned look whereas her right hand was busily correcting her already torn up white scarf which was almost covering her forehead at the same time. Meanwhile, her other hand is still holding onto her somewhat a bit outdated wooden basket. "Not yet, Tatsu-san. But what's wrong with this time? Do I really have to finish selling them off before the clock strikes seven o'clock?" Mio asked, pretty naively.

Kotobuki Taketatsu could only shake his head from left to right deliberately upon hearing Mio's innocent reply. "Mio, please don't tell me that you've forgot about it already! As from what I've heard from my daughter, you are supposed to be at the school ground an hour earlier today, right? Now that it's almost 7:10 in the morning, aren't you going to school today?"

The old man's answer made Mio really surprised to such an extent that both of her divine black eyes went a bit wider in shock. "Oh my Goodness, it's already passed even o'clock? Scratch that, I even have to attend in a very important exams today too. Well, maybe I should get going by now since I'm already this late!" Without any hesitation, Mio started to make her way across the street hurriedly. "Tatsu-san, thanks a lot for reminding me!" Mio shouted at the top of her voice to the old man before she turned back around to go across the narrow street.

"Huh… I really feel sorry for you, Mio because you must live this hard life ever since you were a little girl. I was so hopeless for couldn't be of any help to you since I am too, didn't have enough money to support my family," Taketatsu heaved a small yet deep sigh while murmuring silently before he continued his cycling.

Mio quickened her pace swiftly as soon as she saw a woody bridge that connected the street to her house which was just a few stones' throw away from where she's standing right now. To make sure that she will not be wasting anymore of her time, Mio walked hastily towards the bridge without even taking another look at the passing vehicle first.

DUM!

Oh my Gosh! She unconsciously let out a small scream which could only stuck in her throat before her lean body fell automatically into a big slop which was full of dirty muddy red soil. She strained painfully just to move a little bit but unfortunately, her right leg was already crushed down by a high-powered bike that had lost its control. "Ouch, it hurts!" Mio lamented with a slight trembling voice as she unintentionally touched a small blue bruise on her feet. Without her awareness, the rider who was also lying on the same ground beside her made a wrinkled face once he heard her mumbles.

"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath sternly, loud enough for Mio to hear as he tried his best to stand up. Later on, he took a few looks at the red scratches on both of his palms and knees with a totally dejected face. After that, he threw a very sharp glance at the girl who was still trapped underneath his big bike.

"Onii-san, would you please pick up this bike for me? Mio's leg is very hurt right now," Mio called out to him softly as she attempted to push the bike away from keeps on crushing her leg. But of course, all of her hard efforts seemed to fail miserably.

"Hey, are you crazy? Who are you to give me orders and call me as your brother, huh? And to think that you even said your first name when I haven't met you at all, don't you ever feel ashamed? Listen, I can already tell that you don't deserve to be my sister by just taking one look at you. So please, stop talking to me like we've known each other for years already!" The man sniffed angrily but he still made his way towards Mio to help her. With a really frown face, he managed to pick up the bike sluggishly whilst enduring the stinging pains on his limbs. "Damn it! That's what you get for not using your eyes properly and also, for just crossing the road casually!" That man vent out his anger on Mio irately while patting over his black leather jacket which was now filled with dirt and mud smudge.

Mio stared intently at the older fine-looking man with a little bewildered face. Presumably this man didn't want me to call him as a brother. _Well, I guess that he maybe didn't like it since he will seem older with that nickname. But I don't know what his real name is, so what should I call him?_ Mio whispered quietly. For the time being, both of her eyebrows wrinkled deliberately as she tried to think of something else to call him. Just when her eyebrows almost hit each other, it appears that Mio's head is nodding now, moving up and down continuously like a person who gets brilliant ideas. Right now, she even raised her eyebrows delightfully. Less than a minute later, her voice finally broke through the silent atmosphere between them.

"Mmm… Perhaps you're right about that, rider onii-san. But to me, it seems like we're both doing the same mistake since we didn't use our eyes properly. I mean, Mio didn't take a look at either side of the street first before crossing it and raider onii-san, you may be riding your bike without even watching at your front in that moment. So, I guess there's no wonder why this crash could happen."

Mio's honest answer to those compliments only got that man's opposite reaction, an angry one. His eyes went wide in frustration as he stared attentively at Mio who was still sitting on the cold sticky ground. At the same time, that young girl flicked up her worn out track suit slacks until it reached her knee.

"Huh… No wonder Mio feels so much pain. It looks like my knee's bleeding right now, rider onii-san," Mio told him while putting on a small grin on her innocent face even though the pain's almost making her frown since it felt so hurtful.

That man who was anxiously checking up his bike just now to make sure whether it had a scratch or not quickly turned over his head to the poor girl's dirty face right after she finished talking. **Well, I've already told you that she fell into a big slop which is full of dirty muddy red soil, so there's no other reason why her face is very dirty at this moment!**

"Hey, what's wrong with your brain?! I've told you that you didn't deserve to call me by that name, right? Who are you to easily run your mouth freely saying those words? Have you gone deaf? What do I care even if you broke your leg and although you're bleeding to dead, huh? You're the one who hurts, so please take care of it by yourself!" The very short-tempered young man replied her with countless ruthless words.

Mio was taken aback when she heard that man's rude and a bit high-noted words. She stared at his arrogant face for a little while. "Mmm… Excuse me, would you please tell me why Mio couldn't call you as a brother? Anyway, what should I call you then? Well, my grandma Hibi once said that we have to respect the older people by not calling them by their first name without permission and since you seemed older than me, is it wrong to call you as a brother?"

Mio took a deep breath before continuing, "Mmm… you must think that Mio's angry because of this injured leg, correct? That's okay as it's just bleeding a little bit. Before this, I've already been through a lot and just so you know, those times were even worse than this. Several years ago, my body was scalded very badly. It happened when I was enthusiastically watching over grandma Hibi's special homemade soup. Without realizing it, Mio accidentally pinned down the handle of the pot before it started to turn upside down. After that, the hot soup fell all over my body. Did you know that Mio had to stay at hospital's bed for a month because of that? I really felt sorry for grandma Hibi since she must stay with me as I didn't have any friends at there. Later…"

"Huh, what is she blabbering about now? Oh God, I didn't even know how I stumbled upon a crazy girl like this. In any case, I'd better get out of here quickly than wasting my precious time by only listening to her stupid chatters," that man stuck a key into the knothole and light up his bike's engine briefly. By that time, he heard Mio called out to him softly but he's really not interested to even take a simple glimpse at her.

"W-Wait up, rider onii-san! Can you tell me which direction you want to go because I've already late to go to somewhere else. Would you please help me out? My grandma Hibi said that we have to help…" Without waiting for Mio to finish her words first, that high-powered bike and its owner had already left her a few miles behind. "The people who's in troubles…" This sentence slowly slipped away from her lips with a quiet sigh. "Mmm… Oh, well. Maybe rider onii-san is so angry because I'm the reason why he dropped off his bike."

Mio talked to herself in a low voice while she busily cleaning the mud on her face and hands. For a moment, she stopped moving as she remembered something. It's a very important thing indeed. Her eyes went wide in fear and her mouth was wide opened. "Oh no! My rice and cakes! Oh my Goodness, where's my basket? Where is it?"

Mio then quickly gotten up and searching desperately for her basket everywhere possible around the street. Her eyes were almost flying off their sockets straightaway right after she saw her rice and cakes which had already scattered all over the place. Her lips' trembling as she tried with all her might to resist any tears from falling down when she looked at the broken basket. "Yori-sama…" This word is all she could say. Nothing less, nothing more…

"Yori, Yori… I'm hungry," all of a sudden, a very weak voice broke through the silence.

"Huh, this old man only knows how to eat and be a nuisance. It really makes me wonder just when he'll kick the bucket already," Yori murmured callously. With several heavy and loud steps, she headed to a small room which was located beside the kitchen.

"Yori… I'm hungry."

"Hey, old man! Do you think that I'm deaf? Why are you screaming so piercingly like that, huh? Do you want all the people in this village to know that you're hungry? Your heart must be rejoiced when the villagers criticize me, right?!" Yori shouted to him while standing by the door. With an annoyed face, she stared intently at Nakataoka whom was affectionately known as Nakato by the other villagers.

Nakataoka could only look at her with glassy eyes while lying weakly on the mat. He couldn't do anything by hearing those harsh words since both of his legs were paralyzed after he went through an accident at his workplace. His lips' trembling slightly as he started to talk. "Why did you talk to me like that, Yori? Did you've already forgot that I am still your husband?" Nakataoka said with a trivial vibrating voice as he tried to shove the grief away.

"So what if you're my husband? What's the use if you're merely a living dead, huh?! It'd certainly be better if I didn't have any!" Yori talked back to him rudely. Suddenly, she heard a few small footsteps behind her which signed that someone was walking into the house. When she saw Mio's messy and dirty appearance at the kitchen door, her eyes went wide in flash. "Hey stupid, what's wrong with your swampy body, huh? Did you go out to sell food or to play with mud?!" Yori uttered those words angrily.

After hearing that, Mio's nervousness increases abruptly. She quickly lowered her head while clenching her fists abruptly. Just by looking at Mio's body language, Yori could sense that something bad had happened to her. In actual fact, it's a thing that could get her really mad without a doubt. Later on, she walked closer to Mio sluggishly before she stuck her head out of the door with furrowed brows. "Where's the basket?" She asked that question with a very high voice.

Mio flinched a little before her face started to lose its color immediately. Her lips' twitching as if to say something but everything was currently stuck in her throat. In the end, there's not even a single word coming out from her. The poor girl's silence only made Yori more furious than ever. Afterwards, she paced swiftly to Mio and pinched her left arm sternly. "Why do you always cause my blood to rise up high, huh? Just how many times am I going to tell you? Whenever I'm talking to you, you must look at my face! Understand that?"

"Ouch, please stop it. It hurts, Yori-sama…" Mio was now pleading with a rather shaking voice to her cold-blooded stepmother. Some small beads of tears began to pile up at the edge of her eyes.

"I see. Even though you are very stupid, you still know how it feels to be hurt, right? But still, would you please tell me why you've never changed your behavior, huh?! Listen to me when I'm asking you, where the hell is the basket? Don't tell me that you've already sold all of the food along with the basket!" Yori's questioning Mio with her eyes wide open. In the meantime, she still didn't let go of Mio's arm. "Hey, I am now demanding for your answer! What? You've gone deaf?!" Yori mocked at her while tightening her grip on Mio's arm.

Mio's body now trembling with unspoken fear whereas she took a deep breath as if trying to gather a slight bit of courage before she answered, "O-On my way back home just now, M-Mio was involved in a small accident, Yori-sama. A-After that, the basket is broke and all of the food fell down onto the ground. M-Mio really didn't mean to…" She wasn't even finish speaking the next sentence when unexpectedly, a very harsh slap lands upon her cheek.

"What an idiot! You have no use at all just like your father!" Yori couldn't hold back her anger anymore. Soon after, she grasped both of Mio's cheeks with her left hand and then slapping them repeatedly with her right hand. "Take that, stupid!"

"Y-Yori-sama… I'm very sorry, it was really an accident. I'm sorry…" Mio started to cry endlessly.

"What is it now, Yori? What are you going to do to my daughter? Please don't beat her any longer, stop it…" Nakataoka's hoarse voice roared in a silent echo from that small room. He was now trying with all his might just to get up from the floor despite the fact that his leg's already numb. However, Yori paid no attention to him at all. Later on, she went into the living room before she came back while bringing a broom with her. Without a slight bit of pity, Mio's body was beaten endlessly.

"You're such a hopeless girl! From years ago up until now, you're always making my life harder. Why don't you just follow the step of your late mother's death, huh?! And just take a look at your father who should've been dead too by now, don't you think that the two of you only live to die?!" Yori screamed and shouted loudly while she kept on hitting Mio's body with that broom heartlessly.

Mio couldn't restrain her non-stop weeps anymore and now she cried her heart out miserably which sounded just like a small child's at this time although her age has already reached over 18 years old. Her small body was getting weaker and more vulnerable until she's not capable to bear any of Yori's beats any longer. "Papa, please help Mio. It hurts a lot… Mio can't stand it anymore. I'm begging you, Yori-sama. Stop it. I promise that I will never cause any trouble for you again. Forgive me, please…" Mio's wailing and pleading at the same time, asking for that woman's sympathy.

"Oh my Gosh, what are you doing to her? Haven't I told you to stop it, Yori? Do you want to kill her?!" By using all of the strength he had, Nakataoka shouted vociferously. Right after hearing her husband's shouts, Yori stopped the beating instantly. She quickly threw away the broom in her hand onto the wooden floor by still putting on a face which was full of hatred.

"Hey stupid, now listen here! I am not going to let you eat anything today! If you're really that hungry, just go collect all those scattered food on the street and eat it until you're full! Got it?" Yori warned Mio while pushing her head forcefully before she went away.

"Mio… Mio… Come here to me," Nakataoka called out to his daughter weakly. He felt so dejected that he couldn't even protect his own daughter from his furious wife. _I'm sorry, Yoko…_

Mio who was still stumbling on the floor flinched all of a sudden just when she heard that weak voice. Then she quickly wiped off her falling tears before began to answer him softly, "Yes, papa… Wait a minute, I'm coming." Afterwards, she sauntered sluggishly to her father's room and sat beside him with her face looking down. _Papa must be sad if he saw my tears…_

"Mio, are you okay? Did you hurt anywhere?" He asked with a soothing melancholy voice. Just by listening to his feeble voice made Mio's tears start to fall down again. She shook her head swiftly as the answer. Nakataoka heaved a deep sigh before helping her daughter to wipe away those glistening tears. His heart was breaking apart with every gesture he made. "Mio…" He softly said her name once more. "Mio, didn't you said that there will be an important test at your school today? It's already passed 7:30; don't you want to go to school today?" His voice was getting more muffled with every word he spoke. Poor you, Mio…

"Mmm… Maybe Mio will go to school a little late today, papa. Anyway, the test is scheduled after the afternoon break and besides, I still haven't feed you anything today since I went out a bit earlier in the morning to sell out those foods. Please papa, don't you worry about it as Mio will somehow find an excuse to tell my homeroom teacher the reason why I'm late this day," Mio answered him while showing an innocent smile. After that, she got up and walked to the sink.

Yori's steps came to a halt when she heard those words. Her eyes swiftly landed upon the poor girl's face sharply. "Hey stupid! What did you say? After what you have done today, you're still saying that you want to go to school, huh?" She growled furiously while crossing her arms on her chest.

Mio turned around to her and nodded her head deliberately. "T-That's true, Yori-sama. Mio has Chemistry and Physics test today. Both of these tests are very important because half of the points will be added to the final semester exams which will be carried out by the end of this year," Mio answered cautiously.

Yori let out a heavy snort. "So, did you think that I even care about that? Listen to me; I will never let you go to school even if today is the day of your final exams. Take this as your punishment since I've suffered a lot of loss today. After all, it would only be wasting time and useless for a silly girl like you who wants to go to school. This is all because of your grandma Hibi who was so eager to send you off to school even though she had to go through a lot of troubles just to pay for you school fees and all. Hmph, if you dare to go to school or eat anything in this house for this day, you are really a dead meat then! Maybe I will beat your father too later. You'd better remember this!"

Her stepmother's callous warning pierced thoroughly into Mio's ears. She watched Yori's back until her stout body disappears. Thereafter, tears flowed swiftly on her cheek at the moment she shut her eyes. _Oh God, what am I supposed to do now? Miss Yamanaka must be really angry. _Without wasting any more of her time, she continued her trek to the sink.

"Mio… Mio… Why are you so quiet? What happened?" Nakataoka called. He was really worried when he realized that the atmosphere suddenly turning into a complete silence like this. _I wonder if Yori had done something to her just now…_

"Y-Yes, papa, I'm fine. Nothing happened at all," Mio replied before she rotated the small head pipe to cause the water to flow out. Her face started to turn into a frown as she endured the stinging pain once she pulled up her long-sleeve shirt slightly to wash out the dirty muddy off her hands. She could see a few traces which were left behind by the beating earlier. Afterwards, she felt her head was now pounding loudly that it almost made her to fall down onto the cold floor.

Right after she could get a grip of the throbbing headache, she quickly washed her face. She sobbed quietly once the water hit her cheeks as she could still feel the hurtful pain of getting slapped by her stepmother. Out of the blue, the melancholy sentiment squeezed her heart firmly. She just can't be capable of holding back her tears anymore. Drop by drop; they started to fall down all over again.

"Mio…"

"Yes, papa…" Mio answered him quickly. Without any hesitation, the tears on her cheeks were swept away abruptly. Then she took off her already dirty scarf and placed it into a bucket which was placed beside the bathroom door. She took a simple glimpse at the bucket that was full of countless dirty clothes. Mio let out a small sigh as she knew that she must be the one to wash all of them before the afternoon comes. She breathed in slowly before she stepped up into her father's room while dragging her left feet which was still hurt by the accident.

"Papa, do you want to eat?" She gently asked him while taking a seat beside her father. She caressed her father's gray hair lightly as she smiled lovingly at him.

"Mio…" Nakataoka said her name with a vibrating voice and then he held Mio's hand securely. This gesture made her slowly looked up to her father's face which looked so frail and there's no sparkle in his eyes anymore. Nakataoka felt so miserable when he saw the scars on her cheeks. After that, he shifted his eyes to her bruised arms. With all the strength he had, he tried to move his hand and stroked his daughter's arm little by little. "Forgive me, Mio. Forgive me," he whispered softly. Tears started to flow from his tired eyes.

"Papa, why are you saying sorry to Mio since you've never do anything wrong? Mio was beaten for my own faults. I am the one who didn't take care of those foods carefully. Mio's fine. So please, don't you worry for nothing. Mmm… Papa, do you want to eat? Wait here, Mio will get something for you to eat," urged Mio. Without even waiting for her father's answer, she stood up and quickly left the room.

Nakataoka's tears were flowing down quicker on his cheek. He was so dejected by seeing the burdens that his daughter must endure as soon as his legs were paralyzed since a few years ago. It seemed that Yori's good nature when he was healthy before was only just a lie. He was very regretted to ever marrying her and made her as Mio's stepmother. _For God's sake, what did I do to my own daughter? Forgive me, Mio… Poor my daughter as her life is so full of torments and beatings._

_But still, her heart is very kind because she never ever felt any sense of revenge on anyone. You're so naïve, Mio and you're just too straight. Maybe that's the reason why people wouldn't ever hesitate to exploit you. Oh my God, please protect my daughter from anyone's deceits and please make her to be strong to face this life. _Nakataoka prayed silently deep in his heart for her beloved daughter's sake.

Her small weary body was quivering constantly as she endured the cold ether. With half trembling hands, she headed downstairs feebly and went straight towards the kitchen. A few meters away from her standing, she could hear her second daughter's non-stop blabbering. "Why are you so stubborn, huh? You shouldn't have gone to work when you already knew that you're under the weather. Luckily, it wasn't a sick to death!" Yori mocked her mother recklessly. The old woman could only rub her chest blandly by hearing those rude words.

She was named as Hikasa Hibiku but fondly known as grandma Hibi by her grandchildren and the other villagers. While heaving a deep sigh, she took a simple glimpse at her daughter who was busily placing a teapot on the small dining table. Then she shook her head gradually before saying, "Huh… I really don't know the reason why you could ever be this impolite to the woman who gave birth to you, Yori. Tell me now, what would you and the other people who live in this house going to eat if I didn't go to work then? Don't tell me that you've already planned to just boil some stones and eat them instead," Hibiku replied her daughter with an annoyed tone. For the moment, she coughed once in a while.

Yori snorted irritably at her mother. "Hey old woman, what's wrong with your attitude just now? Please don't ever show your meaningless kindness to us because I've already knew that you're only working this hard just for that girl's sake alone, correct? Listen to me; I am not that stupid to believe in every word you've said. Besides, it's more than enough by now if you really just wanted to feed our mouths. Furthermore, it's already as much as necessary with only the money that I got from selling those foods!"

Yori stopped for a while and folded her arms on her chest before continuing, "Well, what can I say then? You love her very much to the extent that you'll even willingly risk your own life for her. Moreover, I knew that you'd be doing whatever it takes just to find plentiful of money for paying her education. Oh my, only God knows how shameless that girl could be since she still wants to study further even though she realized that we didn't have much money," snapped Yori with an annoyed smirk on her face.

All of a sudden, Hibiku abruptly turned around to face her insolent daughter. She may be acknowledged for her patience but once she heard someone talked something bad about Mio, she might be a lot more furious than a hungry lion. "Yori, how could you say that? It seemed like you've forgot about the details already. Did you realize that the girl you've said shameless just now is the same orphan who's helping you to find money every day?! Furthermore, Mio's the only one who made those foods and sold them off without asking for any helps from you! Besides, she also got out early in the morning just to sell those foods around this village as her daily routine."

Yori was taken aback by her mother's unexpected responds. After that, she clenched both of her fists tightly while staring intently at the old woman's weary face. But still, Hibiku paid no attention to her daughter's reaction. _Huh, did she think that I will be afraid of her? It seemed like you've made a big mistake, Yori._ Later on, she carried on speaking, "Anyway, where is your beloved daughter at that time?! Wasn't she supposed to be the first one to help us since she's older than Mio? I'm very sorry to say this, but I think that she's the shameless one for sleeping through the day instead of lending a helping hand. Would you please give her a lesson on how to wake up before the morning breaks after this as a substitute for blaming Mio all the time, huh?!" Hibiku chastised her daughter angrily. Her heart was so wretched with Yori's choice of words for Mio. _She said that Mio is shameless? What a non-sense!_

"For your information, this conversation has nothing to do with Mika. In any case, why would I want to let Mio eats everything in my house for free? Moreover, she should've realized by now that she's just an unwelcomed guest in this house. Furthermore, why must I go through the troubles to take care of her when I've already had to look out for her father?" Yori said with no intention of giving up.

"Oh my Gosh, just what am I going to do with your spoiled manner? Hey, did you even realize what you've said to her father? In any case, don't tell me that you've forgot about your bond with him already," She stopped and coughed for a while. At the same time, she rubbed her chest sluggishly before looking up to her daughter's face. Hibiku heaved a sigh when she saw her daughter was now looking outside the window with a very irritated face while crossing her arms. Seeing Yori's stillness, she resumed her speech. "Nakato is your husband, Yori. A few years after your sister died in a crash, aren't you the one who kept on insisting to replace her position? Anyway, you even said that you really wanted to make sure that the 4 years old Mio gets a mother's love at that time. Just thinking about this makes me very sad." Hibiku then took off her spectacles and wiped off her tears with her sleeve.

Yori's twitching mouth looked as if she wanted to say something, but Hibiku cut her off instead. "Huh… After that, you told me that it would be easier for you to take care of Mio by tying the knot with him. So, I helped to persuade him on your behalf into accepting you as his wife, by means of replacing Yoko. However, what happened after you finally married him? Tell me, Yori. How could you torture that orphan's life callously without any bit of sympathy up until now? In front of her father, you put on an act as a loving mother. But every time Nakato went over to his bureau, you torment that poor girl's life endlessly. Yori, don't you ever think that I wouldn't know about this! Even though I went out early in the morning to my workplace and came back home late in the midnight, I still know everything about your bad behaviors in this house," said Hibiku. She coughed again before she rubbed her chest slowly.

Yori remained still for a few seconds after hearing those words. Later, she let out a small chuckle which ended up as a big laugh. "You must have heard about this news from the villagers' gossips, right? Hey old woman, how could you trust those stupid villagers over your own daughter?! Don't tell me that you've already failed to remember about how envious they are to me, without a doubt? From years ago up 'til now, they can never stand it each time I had all the good fortunes. Huh, it almost seemed like I've snatched their father's dearly loved property. Hahaha…" Yori said as she tried to defend herself while laughing sarcastically.

Hibiku's body was slightly trembling with full anger upon hearing her daughter's words just now. "Hey Yori, you may could be telling numerous lies to humans but you can never tell a lie to God above. Not enough with making countless filth deceits just to marry him, you even persuaded Nakato to put all of his properties together with his bank money under your name right after his legs were both confirmed to be paralyzed for the rest of his life because of that unfortunate accident. Besides, you also said that it would be easier for you to manage it later as the reason. I really didn't know why I'm so stupid at that time for not realizing your dirty schemes to take over his wealth," Hibiku held her head and pressed it weakly to slow down her headache.

Yori sighed deeply and decided to leave the kitchen, but her mother's sudden strong hold made her stop from making any further steps. "But what happened when all he could is lying motionlessly like that later on? How could you and Mika spend all of his money thoughtlessly by buying all of those unnecessary things? Didn't you ever know that it was a very reckless thing to do since you also need to think about Mio's necessitates and all?! Now, all that we have left is only this old house's site. Fortunately, you wouldn't sell it because you won't have a place to live anymore if you do that!" Hibiku shouted her rage to Yori. For the time being, she typically stared intently at her daughter's still shameless face.

Yori was speechless after that, but only for a few seconds. "Would you please stop repeating this ridiculous story over and over again? Anyway, I thought that I've already told you that I used half of the money to buy some shares from my friend's company. So please don't worry about a thing any longer, old woman. I promise you that I will return back the money to you as soon as I got the payback, okay? Besides, what will happen to us if I didn't start to do something for our future's sake? Please, are you going to tell me that the old man who's already dead in that room can help us whenever we face any kind of hard time soon? Hey old woman, are you planning to feed him with sand since you knew that we had to feed his mouth and Mio's too. In addition…" Before Yori could finish her last sentence, Hibiku quickly cut her off without any hesitation.

"What kind of payback are you talking about just now, Yori? Why don't you just stop lying to me about the actual truth, huh? This is because I already knew that you've lost almost all of the remaining money in gambling beforehand. Moreover, I want you to stop building castle in the air because your dream to become rich will never come true without doing any of the hard works. Anyway, that dead man is still your husband and please at least take a look at Mio as your niece since you'll never take her in as your stepdaughter. You must remember that she is still a part of our family, Yori!" She then pointed her finger straight to her daughter's face.

She shook her head deliberately and sadly looked out of the window. "Now, I just want you to keep in mind once more about the people who kindly brought you back home to this village when you were wandering around endlessly in Tokyo after Nagata divorced and chased you away from his house. After that, who had been so thoughtful to help feeding you and Mika? Yori, I don't know any more about what will happen to you if not for the helps from Nakato and Yoko. Would you please remember other people's good deeds to you even just for this once?"

Honestly, she was very angry by hearing her daughter's answers just now. Hibiku felt very disappointed just by thinking about all of the things that Yori had done since several years ago. How could she ever deceived her husband and then consumed all of his wealth that was previously saved up by him for Mio's needs in the future? No matter what kind of reason she had when she decided to marry him, it would never be that important anymore. This is because whatever things she did are obviously sinful and wrong without a shred of doubt. Doesn't she fear God at all? Have she already forgot about how sinful it is for those who voraciously devour an orphan's prosperity? She then threw a sharp glance at Yori's face while breathing in slowly. "Listen up, Yori. We will never be forever young and above all, we're living in this world for a very short time only. Moreover…"

"Stop it, old woman. Do you actually think that I want to hear your meaningless talks early in the morning? Anyway, every single thing I did will never be right in your eyes since you undeniably favored Yoko more than me from the very first start. Did you truly think that I didn't know anything about this, huh? Not enough with that, you also never gave me any of your approval when I decided to marry Nagata. But when Yoko wanted to marry that old man, you just agreed like it was nothing and didn't care the slightest bit. Yes, I agreed that Nagata owned nothing at all compared to Nakato who owned many things since he was jobless. Besides, Nakato also came from a very rich household. So, it's definitely no wonder you accepted him to be a part of this family!"

After that, she stopped for a while as she folded her arms arrogantly before resuming her speech. "Furthermore, you also didn't try to help me at all when your late husband made a decision to drive me and Nagata away out of this house right after we got married. Because of that, we had to live through countless great difficulties together. Did you ever know that was one of the reasons why our marriage didn't last any longer after that?" She easily put the blame on her parents without feeling any guilty.

Hibiku was thunderstruck upon hearing those words. "Fine then, I didn't know what else to say anymore. Yori, how could you just continuously blind up both of your eyes and your heart too? This is because you'd always blame others for your mistakes even if those people are your parents and even when you've already knew that they were all at your own faults anyway. Besides, Nagata is always right in your eyes. You'd still look up to him as a good person although he eventually divorced you to marry a whore," Her voice was getting lower at the end of her speech. From the corner of her eyes, she could tell that Yori was now looking at her with full hatred.

However, she just decided to continue. "The thing that saddened me the most is that you were caught up for making love with Nagata by the villagers in an orchard when you're only 16 years old! Afterwards, you even said that we're the ones to blame for not teaching you properly. Have you ever thought about our dignities as your parents, huh? Then you tied up the knot in the next few days and one year later, you gave birth to Mika. Yori, how could you ever put the blame on us for what had happened in your marriage after what you have done?" Her tears started to fall down. "Well, I guess there's nothing left to say anymore since I was very tired to catch up with your way of thinking. Besides, you'll never ever listen to my words and tried to change your behaviors…" Those words were said softly but still sounded piercingly to Yori's ears.

Yori snorted heavily as she was very annoyed by hearing her mother's non-stop pungent satire. At the same time, Mio walked through the kitchen door while holding a basket in her hand. "Yori-sama, Mio has already sold out all of the rice and cakes for today," Mio informed her stepmother in a slow tone while carefully placing the empty basket on the table.

Yori then threw a very sharp glance at her. In the meantime, Hibiku could only shook her head sluggishly as she saw the way her daughter looked at Mio. _There she goes again… _"Hey stupid, why are you coming home so late today? Usually, all of the foods should already be depleted since early in the morning on Sundays like this! So tell me, where else did you go?!" Her voice sounded a bit harsh than before. _Oh my God, what am I going to do with you? _For the time being, Hibiku whispered quietly from deep inside her heart.

When she heard that sudden scream, her face started to lose its color swiftly. At the moment, she slowly turned her point of view towards her grandmother. Mio's face already looked like as if she's trying to ask for her sympathy. Hibiku was just heaving a deep sigh as she stared at Mio understandingly. After a few seconds later, she looked back at her stepmother's furious face. "Mmm… On my way back home just now, Mio went to pay a visit at Tomi-san's place for a while. Then I assisted her to pack some fried noodles before I helped her out to send those packages to Tatsu-san's tavern. Besides, Mio felt very sorry for Tomi-san since she couldn't walk too much this day because of her still sore feet. Furthermore, I am very afraid that she might get tired if she went there by herself and she also gave me a 1000 yen note as the payment although I really didn't want it."

Before Mio could even grasp her tracksuit's pocket to reach out for the said money, Yori snarled again. "Did you just say that she only gave you 1000 yen? What a stupid girl! Did you ever know that I couldn't even buy any food for my cat with that much money, huh?! On the other hand, why are you so busily wanted to give a help to that old woman? At least, she still has a husband and she could've asked for his help instead. Huh, I guess that's what you gain for being a barren. There'll be no one to help you when you're getting old later!"

"What are you talking about now, Yori?!" Hibiku yelled out loudly to her daughter.

Unfortunately, Yori paid no attention to her. "Huh, you're always busy helping others but you've never thought of lending a hand to your own grandmother when she was really in need of help. Did you know that your grandmother didn't go to work because she's sick today? As a matter of fact, you should've changed place with your grandmother instead. Hey stupid, listen to me! Starting from this day onwards, you don't have to go to school anymore. Furthermore, a stupid girl like you must've never dreamed of going to school. Right now, I just want you to replace your grandmother's position as a servant at that rich people's house. You'd better find more money if you want to feed your father or else, I will make sure that your father eats stones instead!" Snapped Yori and then she immediately left the kitchen with a very annoyed face.

Yori was very angry since her mother's words were still roaming smoothly inside her ears. Therefore, she used Mio as a place to vent out her anger. After that, Mio remained speechless while standing in front of the kitchen door. She even scratched her head every now and then. _Eh? I never know that Yori-sama has a cat before. Well, I guess that she must very love it then. _Hibiku then pressed her forehead slightly. _When will you realize, Yori? _She whispered sorrowfully.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Mmm... How is it? Since this is my first story, I really want to write a lot. So, my goal is to break the 40 chapters with 150 000 words barrier! Well, only if I could… Oh, you can follow me on Tweeter by searching for krysivory and I will follow you back for sure, especially when you are a part of K-OnNoize! (A special title for K-On!'s fan club which was created by me and my friends) Well, I am indebted to various people while in the making of this story and it's also including you, my dear readers.**

"_Just like a shadow, I'll be beside you_

_I'll be your comfort; I'm there to guide you home_

_I will provide you a place of shelter_

_Just like the moon, I'll step aside_

_And let your sun shine while I follow behind_

_If I could be your angel protect you from the pain_

_I'll keep you safe from danger_

_You'll never hurt again, no more_

_I'm gonna be you're A.N.G.E.L. I'll be your angel"_

_Quoted by "__**A.N.G.E.L.**__" performed by __**NATASHA BEDINGFIELD**_

_From the album "__**POCKETFUL OF SUNSHINE**__" released in 2007_


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